Searchs and Seizures

Legal & Illegal Search & Seizure-The Exclusionary Rule:
The Fourteenth Amendment of the constitution of the U.S.A. forbids unreasonable searches and seizures by federal law enforcement agents and applies that exclusion to the state of Wisconsin, and all states, as well as to law enforcement agents within the states.

Know & Guard Your Rights:
You should know your rights because the police are not accountable for advising you of your rights. They are not going to say when they are allowed to make an acceptable search and they will not say when they have stepped over their boundaries. They also do not have to tell you that they can confiscate anything in plain sight or tell you that you have the right to not let them into your house.

Purpose of Search & Seizure:
The reason for a search is to find evidence that the police can seize. The reason for a seizure is to obtain evidence that can be used against a defendant to indict them for taking part in a crime.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is founded upon the idea that every citizen of the U.S.A has the right of reasonable expectation to privacy, although the rights are restricted. The privacy rights are explained by the law and are based from the beliefs of the legislators while keeping in mind the wishes and worries of citizens.

A Search:
A search can go against a person´s reasonable expectation of privacy. Searches are either defined as permissible which are referred to as legal searches or impermissible which are referred to as illegal searches.

Permissible Searches are Reasonable Searches:
As long as the infringement of a person´s belief of privacy is reasonable, then the search is permissible. A reasonable search can have explicit consent or implicit consent. Explicit consent is if a person responds positively to a search and gives consent. By them giving consent, the person does not have a reasonable expectation to any privacy.

If any piece of evidence or any criminal doings are in plain view but were actually intended to stay private, there is not a violation of a person´s reasonable expectation to privacy.

A Seizure:
Under the 14th Amendment, being stopped by the police is a seizure. As long as the seizure is reasonable it is then permissible, otherwise it is illegal.

Reasonable Seizure:
If a police officer sees criminal activity, or activity that would make a reasonable person come to the conclusion that it was of criminal character, or an informed person gives confirmed information to the police, then a succeeding seizure is reasonable and permissible. If the police officer stops someone who appears to be or has reasonable belief that the suspect is armed the police officer is able to pat down the suspect and take away any harmful weapons.

Checkpoints:
There are many reasons to use checkpoints; some of the reasons are, to find drunk drivers, find an escaped convict, or to verify vehicle registration. As long as the process used to select the automobiles that are stopped is reasonable and objective, the checks are permissible. An officer has the right to request all persons to step out of the vehicle without violating their rights. The officer must have probable cause or a search warrant to check the vehicle.

Home Searches :
For most situations a search warrant is required for the police to enter a private place. If a search warrant is not required, there has to be probable cause.

If there is an arrest warrant out for a suspect and the suspect runs into his house after being spotted outside by an officer, the officer has the right to go in the house on "hot pursuit" to make the arrest.

If an officer has probable cause and is not able to obtain a search warrant without loosing the evidence or suspect, then he is able to go in and search and seize without a warrant.

If an officer has permission to search a home he/she may do so. The officer can only search the person´s things who gave him permission, unless that person is also able to give him permission to search other member´s things. The search is permissible as long as it is not violating that other person´s rights. If the house is shared, roommates do not have authority over each other to give consent to a search.

The right to a reasonable expectation of privacy is a personal right, which includes the person´s physical body and his/her immediate setting. The items included in a search are person´s clothing, body, and immediate setting or settings within his reach.

Effects of Illegal Search & Seizure:
If a search or search and seizure happen to be impermissible, under the exclusionary rule, the evidence collected from that seizure is excluded in the defendant´s criminal trial, although the evidence may be used to ban a witness. There are also exceptions to this rule which include: searches to shield the public, if one or more legal searches and one or more illegal searches are carried out, or if the search exposed evidence that would have been otherwise known or formed by some other means despite of the search, the search and evidence collected can be disclosed into evidence at trial.

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